FFVII Alternate storyline
by Ultima-sephiroth
Summary: The following is an alternate storyline of the events at the Nebilheim Reactor, five years before the game, Final Fantasy VII, takes place.


This, above the line, is access information about Sephiroth to those who do not know him. Also, this tells about the first storyline, the battle where Sephiroth disappeared for five years. This story was not easy to make.. So please, enjoy. -

Age: Unknown Hometown: Unknown (probably Nibelheim)  
Weapon: Masamune A former member of SOLDIER, infused with Mako and possessing the fighting skills of a raging demon, Sephiroth is the main villain of Final Fantasy VII. He used to be the greatest member of SOLDIER and the highest General, due to his finely honed sword skills and unmatched strength and power. As a boy, Cloud idolized him, and is the very reason for Cloud joining Shinra Inc. During a mission in the reactor at Nibelheim, he witnesses members of SOLDIER transformed into hideous monsters, encased in incubators. Thinking of himself as being one of those, he was enraged, not knowing the truth. He researches about his past, and finds out about Jenova, the "Crisis from the Sky", and makes her his mother-figure. He then goes back to the reactor, being the twisted self that he is at present, blames Cloud for his "traitorous" ancestors, burns down Nibelheim, slays Tifa's father, and proceeds to free his "mother" Jenova. He is then stopped by an enraged Cloud, who then succeeds in apparently killing him and throwing him into the Mako pit at the bottom of the reactor. Records have marked him as "Dead" since then. But now, strange occurences are happening, with the reappearance of Jenova, and the appearance of Sephiroth "clones". Sephiroth has awakened once again, and is off to pursue his unknown mission.

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-Sephiroth looks out of the trains open doors, the world nothing but a green blur to his bright blue, cat shaped eyes. He sighs softly, closing those amazing eyes, reopening them to look at the floor. He is a tall man, around 6'3 or so, with long, silver/white hair. Although young. His hair defines him, some say it was placed upon him as a reaction to the Mako, or life essence of the planet, he was exposed too long ago. Some say it was the Jenova cells at birth, which also definately gave him the odd eyes, his skills with a blade, and his magical abilitys. Either way, it's there.

Another of the details about this man that defines him, indeed, makes him infamous is the massive No-dachi sword he carries, named Masamune. The blade itself, slender and perfect, beautiful, is around six feet in legenth and glints like it was forged yesterday. The hilt, about a half a foot long itself, is wrapped in sharkskin over the hard wood it's made from. "Damn it all.." Sephiroth says softly, sighing as the train's wheels screech loudly, coming to a slow, long halt. He stands, the black trenchcoat whipping about in the wind created from the sudden stop. The area outside is now flat and normal, no trees, just green grass. "The plains.. Terrotory of Dragons.."

Many loud screams of pain reach his ears from the front cars of the train, drawn out in agony and joined by a tremendous roar and a rather loud blasting sound, which is followed by a wave of scorching heat. "Looks like a fight." He says, scowling as he steps down from the train onto the gravel on the tracks. His head turns to the left first to see a few of the soldiers quivering in fear, looking at something behind him. His head turns slowly, laughing at their fear. As he does so, he looks up to find himself stairing into the eyes of massive red Dragon, a pile of charred bodies behind it, still smoking. "I see.." He whispers gently, grinning evily, a cold glint in the eyes that mistify and enchant so many. "Prepare yourself." He whispers.

He pulls Masamune up to eye level, his hands holding it just above the sholder, a very intimidating pose with the enemy looking down the cold steel to find him/herself looking into the even colder eyes of the man many call a demon.. The dragon itself even seems to tremble in fear for a long moment, before screaming in fury and unleashing a blast of vicious, sweltering fire at him, hot enough to melt boulders or even mountains... Sephiroth laughs in a cold, cruel voice as he waves one hand in the air, a rainbow of colors eminating from his hand as a magical wall appears before him and the dragon, protecting him from the flames. "No luck, beast.." He says gently before he seems to disappear all together, now no more then a soft blurr in the air.

With a smooth, graceful motion, unseen by any, Masamune slips across the gut of the beast.. Without a sound, Sephiroth lands behind the Dragon. The Dragon turns slowly, growling, preparing another blast of flame or perhaps rearing to bite down onto his upper torso. The dragon does indeed blast another wave of sweltering fire at Sephiroth, many of the SOLDIERS watching and gasping in awe at Sephiroth's amazing movements, the Major in SOLDIER Zack and Private First Class in the Shinra army Cloud Strife included. Ignoring the fiery breath that roared out of the beast's jaws, he slipped through the flames and slashed off one flailing wing, then the other. The enraged dragon lashed out with raking foreclaws, and paid dearly for missing as Masamune severed the limb. Easiliy evading the thrashing head, Sephiroth ended the battle with his fifth blow, which split the dragon nearly in two.

A loud, dull bang echos through the air as the shreads of the dragons now lifeless body slams into the earth, creating a minor impact crator. It's blood leaks out onto the grass, creating small flames at the first touch before the dragons body and the innards which have fallen from the cavity of the dragons bowels both turn to dust. As soon as he sits down again, against the wall of the car, the train begins to rumble foward. Sephiroth sighs softly, looking up at the sky again, the sun dipping low and the space above his head, beginning to turn cold and dark, dotted with the stars that will be so numerious come nightfall. His hair glints even more as the suns final, dying rays shine down upon him.

As the night falls around him, his eyes close.. He sleeps lightly, his chest raising and falling with his deep breaths. The moonlit night shines down on the one winged angel as he dozes. And, as the suns golden-white rays shine in his eyes, his hand flys into the air and grasps at the neck of the man standing above him, wrapping his long, slender fingers around the neck of that man, slowly choking the life out of him. "S-Sep-hiroth-sama...! I.. I'm s-..sorry, it's morn..ing.. We're in Nibelheim now!" The young man says. Sephiroth scowls gently as he lets the man go. "You're lucky." He says in his icy cold voice. "Leave me." He says gently, his cold blue eyes looking deep into the young mans hazel eyes. The young man looks enviously at him for a moment before fleeing back to the front of the now halted train.

"Sephiroth-sama, the town is just up ahead." The man now standing before him says. Sephiroth sighs as he steps from the train, looking around. The men around him are all dressed in dark blue, with odd helments adorning their heads, each with three small red triangles on them. Each man also carries a machine gun, along with a much smaller sidearm. "I see.. Any report on what the monster is yet? The one in the Mako reactor, you idiot.." He says, growling at the mans stupid look. "Oh! Y-yeah.. I.. I heard someone say it's..a massive, scorpion like creature.. Big.." He adds, shuddering. Sephiroth nods and says "Materia guardian.. It's trying to guard..some type of rare materia in the reactor.." He adds with a scowl. "This..hmm.." He mutters to himself before walking away omtp the town.

The man behind him, the man who he was just talking too breaths a long, loud sigh of relief as he looks at the now retreating form of Sephiroth. "Somethings..going to happen..and I'm not going to stick around to find out." He hops into the first running truck he sees, riding south-east. "Hmm.. How does it feel being back in your hometown?" Sephiroth asks one of the Shinra guards. But the guard remains silent. "Hmm.." Three other men are with him. One man with black hair. The man, named Zack, has blue eyes.. Not as blue as Clouds' or Sephiroths', but a deeper, darker blue. Women may call him handsome, men may envy him. But Sephiroth remains cold and indiffrent either way. He turns again to look at each of the people with him in turn. Both of them are dressed as guards, but one is more psyically built then the other. He met with him on the train over.. Young, vibrant. Yellow, spikey hair. One could also call him handsome. 'He is Cloud..and he was born here..so why does he hide behind his helm?' He thinks before looking over at the young woman waiting for them. Zack walks up to Sephiroth, grinning. "Hey, Seph-man. What's up? What do you think of this place?" Sephiroth glares at the man for calling him 'Seph-man', but shakes it off. "It..seems familiar somehow... Either way. it does not matter. We are here for a job. This town..does not matter." He says gently, walking foward.

The young woman is beautiful. Waist legenth, silky soft black hair, smooth and flowing.. Big,chocolate brown eyes and a kind complection.. Well built, in the ways a female should be. Curvey hips, long legs and large breasts..everything most men look for in a woman. She is wearing what looks like a brown cowboy hat and a brown vest, over a white Tanktop and a black mini-skirt. Her complection is kind and gentle, but she looks like she can be a fighter if it comes down to it. Tifa looks around for a moment, sighing softly. "He's..not here.." She whispers before running into the town. "Hmm.." Sephiroth says again, shaking his head, his long, silvery hair whipping out as he does so. "Come on, we shall get a room at the Inn." He says softly. Masamune shines brilliantly in the light from the morning sun as they march into the town. Later, that day, Sephiroth sighs as he stands outside of the Inn. The man with black hair, Zack, stands on one side of him.. Tifa, the young woman Sephiroth had met earlier, stands on his other side. "Hurry up.." Sephiroth growls softly, looking at the man who stands infront of them, holding an older fashioned camera. "O..O-Okay! Here goes! Say cheese!"

Sephiroth frowns as he looks from the window in his room at the Inn. A greenish glow emits from just beyond the mountains. "So..that's the reactor?" The young man he had met earlier, Cloud, walks over to him. "The glow from the reactor, yes.. The Mako, or essence of the planet as it is known now to be, being processed there filters through many transparent pipes and turned into energy for electricity.. That glow is it's natural color..and it takes on that glow when exposed to air and light." Cloud nods as he continues to look through the window.. 'How strange..his eyes..' Sephiroth thinks.. 'Are like mine.' Clouds eyes are also cat shaped and brilliantly bright blue, showing that he too has been exposed to Mako radiation. "You need to go out and do your Guard Duty, Strife." Sephiroth says to the young man. "Oh..oh yeah, right.." He says, shaking his head as he walks back downstairs room. Sephiroth continues to watch him curiously untill the young man is out of sight, then the Major, Zack, joins him. Climbing the stairs of the inn, Zack found Sephiroth standing infront of the bay window. They stood, shoulder to shoulder, silently watching as Strife trudged across Nibelheim's tiny town square.

The trooper came to a halt in front of a small, tidily kept house, then peered around with an almost furtive air before knocking. The door opened and the teenager hastily scooted inside. 'Definitely looks like he's afraid of being recognized by somebody. But by who? That pretty, brown-haired girl?' Zack thinks.. But Strife's problems were immediately became secondary when Sephiroth abruptly spoke. "So tell me something, Major.. Why did you discharge yourself against medical advice to accompany me on this mission? Did you have a sudden urge to play watchdog over me?" Zack opted to say nothing right then in response to those soft, acid-edged words and simply waited. A moment of silence passed, then Zack said quietly "If it makes you feel better to yell at me, go right ahead. It's better than keeping it all bottled up inside. Has Hojo been a bigger pain in the ass than usual?" Zack says quietly, still looking out of the window at the dark town. "No. Not Hojo. He's always careful to stay out of my way whenever possible." Sephiroth stared down at his hands and said softly, "I'm getting stronger, Major." There was a brief pause. "The fight with the dragon." Zack whispers. "Exactly. That creature may have been suffering from some form of Mako poisoning, but that fight was still too easy. And that's not the first time it's happened." Sephiroth adds softly. "I've noticed." Zack says, glancing over at the General of SOLDIER. "Yes, of course. Well, apparently others have noticed, too." Sephiroth adds with a scowl. "Ah." Zack nods in acknowledgement. "There are so many people spying me, I sometimes wonder why they don't trip over each other," Sephiroth muttered. Zack chuckled darkly, "Sometimes they do." "One would think that I'd be used to the constant surveillance by now, but I still find it... irritating.. Go get some rest, Major.. You'll need your stregenth for tomorrow." Sephiroth says in his soft voice. Zack nods his head gently and grins as he walks into his room. "See you tomorrow then, General..."

"Come on now, you have to be ready for anything." Sephiroth says as he follows Tifa, looking foward over the long, winding trail between the mountains. "Now, keep up." He says to the guard following Cloud, who is behind Zack, who is behind Sephiroth and Sephiroth follows only Tifa, the guide. "We should be there in about an hour!" Tifa says in a slightly sad, yet cheerful voice.. "Just make sure we get there.." Sephiroth says with a sigh. The greenish glow seems to begin to get brighter and, slowly, the top of a massive structure comes into view. Sephiroths black combat boots grip the stones as he walks, the grey rocks tumbling over the edge of the steep mountainside. "This is quite a fall.." He says gently, looking over the edge before walking foward toward that odd, bright green glow in the distance again. The wind picks up, making the trenchcoat he wears billow out behind him, along with his silvery hair. "Not much further.." Tifa says softly, sighing. "You said that already." Sephiroth says with a scowl, his boots crunching the rocks under his feet. Finally, the massive reactor comes into view.

The reactor itself is long and slender, not as wide as one would expect. The glow dimishes as they approach, yet seems to grow brighter then ever to the people in Nibelheim "Guard.." He says softly, turning to Cloud. Cloud nods softly and looks up at Sephiroth, thanking him in his mind for not saying his name. "Keep the girl outside.. We don't want her finding whatevers in there, or risk getting our guide back hurt.." The general nodded, then the two SOLDIERs began climbing the stairs to the reactor's entrance. But when he noticed Tifa following him, Zack turned and said, "Tifa, you wait here." She frowned angrily and snapped, "I'm going inside too! I wanna see!" Sephiroth glanced over his shoulder at her and said coldly, "Only authorized people are allowed in. This place is full of Shinra's industrial secrets." "But... but...!" Tifa sputtered furiously. Zack shook his head firmly. "Sorry, but you can't come inside." He turned to Cloud and said, "Take care of the lady." "Aw, man!" she complained loudly and stomped her foot. As the two men disappeared inside the reactor, Cloud stepped forward and blocked the stairway. He was glad to see Tifa's frustration. 'Aren't you the spoiled little princess? Daddy's precious little girl. Bet you're used to getting anything you want with just a bat of those lashes and a cutsie smile. But that didn't work this time, did it? So how does it feel, huh?' Cloud Strife thinks. Tifa glared at him, then pointedly turned her back on him. In a sulky voice, she snapped, "Then you better take real good care of me then!"

The interior of the reactor reeked of Mako. But unlike the caves, the air within the reactor had a disturbing, sour undertone, as if something had gone slightly rotten. Glancing over at his commander, Zack caught a odd, almost scowling look on the other man's face. If the smell bothered him, Sephiroth probably found it overpowering. When he placed his hand on his Generals shoulder, Sephiroth jerked around in surprise. He frowned. Sephiroth was very rarely this jumpy. "Are you all right?" Zack asks softly, looking at him worriedly. "... I'm fine." In response to Zack's politely disbelieving look, Sephiroth sighed, then reluctantly admitted, "All right, this place is giving me a distinct headache. Don't worry about it. The sooner we take care of the problem, the sooner we can get some fresh air." As they continued their descent into the reactor, the air grewheavier, more oppressive. They began to notice unmistakable signs of damage, such as badly dented walls and gouged floors. Two levels down, they came across a large narrow chamber lined with numerous car-sized tanks and an intricate web of interconnecting pipes. "Zack, have you seen anything like this before?" "Nope. This sure doesn't look like standard reactor equipment to me." "If someone's been making unauthorized modifications to this facility, that might explain why there's so many monsters around the area."

Halfway down the long room, they found the first sign of obvious mechanical failure. Several of the tanks leaked or were ruptured, releasing their contents. The floor was caked with sticky, nasty crud. Further down the room, they found even more ruptured tanks and broken piping. "I wonder what the hell was inside these things?" Zack muttered. "I don't know. Possibly chemicals that seeped into the environment and created some of those monsters plaguing this area. But this isn't the only source of them." He pointed to a very distinctive series of claw marks at the far end of the chamber. "It looks like some of these creatures are coming from even deeper inside this reactor." They moved quickly but cautiously, shutting down equipment as they went along. On the lowest level of the reactor, they found what they had been looking for. This last room was flooded with a dim red light that gave everything inside it a bloody sheen. The floor rose in a steep series of tiers, with each tier containing a row of strange, egg-shaped metal pods. But unlike the tanks on the upper levels, the pods had small viewing ports. A stairway allowed access to the tiers and at the top of the stair stood a massive security door. Above the door, written in large letters was a single word.. 'Jenova'.

Zack watched as Sephiroth froze as he saw the word, then shake his head almost angrily. Just like as in the tank room, several of the pods showed signs of damage, but the type of damage was very different. As Sephiroth examined a lower row of pods, Zack gingerly poked at the jagged sheet metal edging one of the broken pods and muttered quietly to himself, "Didn't leak. Didn't explode. It was smashed open, from the inside." Suddenly he shivered, despite the humid heat of the chamber. It felt like some terrible, cold presence had just brushed his heart and soul. "Major, get down here," Sephiroth said harshly. He instantly bounded down the stairs and ran to his side, hand on his sword hilt. "What is it?" he said, his eyes scanning the eerily lit chamber for any possible threat.

Sephiroth stared at one of the pods in obvious revulsion. He hissed softly, "...now I see, Hojo. But even going this far will never put you on the same level as Professor Gast." "Hojo...?" "He's the one responsible for all the unexplained equipment. I didn't understand before, but now I know what it's for. This is a system that's designed to condense and freeze the Mako energy, but it's been modified." "Modified to do what?" "What does Mako energy become when it's refined to its most concentrated state?" "It becomes a Materia," Zack replied, frowning slightly. "That's what normally happens. But Hojo put something else in these pods. Take a look through the window," Sephiroth said, from between clenched teeth. Zack gave him a worried look, then quickly hoisted himself up to look through the viewing port of one of the pods. Inside, amid a glowing green haze, some...THING floated. It was hideous and unnatural, not because it was unrecognizable, but rather because Zack could still see the faint traces of what the monstrosity had once been.

A human being.

Dropping back to the catwalk, he recoiled a step and growled, "What the hell is THAT?" Clenching his fists by his sides, Sephiroth whispered, "Normal members of SOLDIER are humans that have been exposed with Mako. You're different from the others, but still human. Not so with these... things. They've been subjected to a much higher degree of Mako exposure, far more than you." "Shit!" "And Hojo's the one responsible for producing these monsters. This whole reactor, these... specimens... are just another filthy Hojo experiment. Of course most of the monsters in this area can't be identified. They're all travesties of normal living organisms, produced by massive exposure to concentrated Mako energy. Just like..." Sephiroth suddenly clutched his head, trembling. Now throughly alarmed, Zack flung out his hand and said, "Sephiroth?" "N... no..." Sephiroth's shaking abruptly stopped. He stared almost vacantly at the metal pods filling the room. "...Was I?"

He whispered. His face twisted in fury and without warning, he whipped out Masamune and swung, leaving a deep gash in the thick metal of the pod. "...Was I created this way too?" He screamed as he swung his sword again. Metal screamed against metal, and sparks flew. "Am I the same as all these monsters?" "...Sephiroth..." Zack could only watch in blank amazement as Sephiroth started to lash out wildly at the row of metal pods. Shaking off his surprise, Zack took a deep breath, then lunged forward just as Sephiroth finished another swing. He clutched his friend's shoulder with one hand while he grabbed hold of Sephiroth's sword arm with the other. "Seph! Listen to me! Get a hold of yourself!" He gave the other man a hard shake. Trying to restrain Sephiroth's arm was like trying to wrestle the Midgar Zolom (A massive snake in the swamp in the Final Fantasy 7 game) with one hand. Considering how much stronger the other man was, Zack knew he didn't have much of a chance of forcibly stopping his friend, but that wasn't important. All he knew was that he had to do something to snap Sephiroth out of this sick, berserk rage. For a moment, the other man stared right through him, as if Zack wasn't there, then his body lost that terrible tension.. He stood there, his shoulders heaving. "You saw it. All of them were normal humans... once." He shuddered and Zack tightened his grip on his Generals shoulder. "...I've always known since I was small...that I was different from the others. Special, in some way. But..not like this..."

He stared at the floor, shaking his head as if still trying to deny the idea. For once, Zack was at a total loss. Obviously something traumatic had happened to Sephiroth, but he didn't have the faintest idea what had triggered the completely uncharacteristic outburst. He reviewed his memory of the last few minutes, searching for the smallest clue that could explain the other's suddenly erratic behavior. There HAD to be a reason -- he just had to find it. As he struggled to make sense of his friend's disjointed ravings, he glanced up at the security door and wondered if the shock of finding his mother's name linked to Hojo's crazy experiment could have something to do with it. But before Zack could explore the idea further, there was a low roar.

The floor began to shudder as one of the upper tier pods bega to shake violently. Metal ripped and pipes gave away as the pod gave a last convulsive rock, before splitting in half in a huge hissing roar of steam. The front half of the pod fell foward, and a hideous monster emerged from the roiling clouds of vapor amid a massive amount of twisted, flailing limbs. Without warning, the creatured tossed its horned, half-scaled head in the air and screamed in their direction. With a great leap, it lunged at them, with long strings of yellowish green drool dangling from its gaping jaws and scimitar-like claws flashing in the blood red light...

A bad mistake on its part.

About thirty minutes later, Sephiroth and Zack walk out, Zack looking around in an odd manner, Sephiroth's eyes burning with anger and fury, yet a cold, disturbed look on his face also... They begin to make their way back to Nibelheim, not one of them speaking a word due to the cold, icy anger etched into Sephiroth's eyes and face. Even his walking is menicing, gripping his sword and swinging it with every step. Tifa and Cloud catch up, running to keep up with the two SOLDIERs.

As soon as they return, he heads straight into the old mansion at the top of the hill, easily the biggest house in Nibelheim. This house, the mansion, is called Shinra mansion due to the fact that whenever Shinra guards or anyone related with Shinra came to Nibelheim, they would stay here. It has been abandoned lately though.. Cloud watches Sephiroth walk in, a deep sense of forboading in his soul, telling him to be careful for the next few days.. Sephiroth walks up the once beautiful staircase in the old mansion, his footsteps making the old wood creak under his weight. The interrior of the home is beautiful.or was. Once, shiny dark wood made up the floors, plush, expensive carpet laying atop the wood. Curtins, deep, blood red and velvet, blocked the sun from invading the home, lit by candles atop expensive golden chandeliers. He continues to walk into the mansion, secluding himself into the furthest room and opening a hidden door he had found in an earlier visit before he left and took to residing in the Inn.

He decends a set of long, old, dirty, rotten wooden stairs, most of them falling away under his feet as his footsteps echo down the tunnel. "Am..I?" He whispers to himself, looking at his hands before walking again. "No.. I'm not. They are.. But I'm not."

As he reaches the bottom of the stairs, a long, wide passageway, dimly lit with some strange, bioluminicent fungi, meets his eyes. Masamune in hand, he begins to walk down the passage.. Finally, he reaches a door. The dirt, soft and moist under his feet, gives way under his steps and the weight of the combat boots. "I can't be!" He says softly, kicking the door in and stepping into the room. There are two transparent capsuls on the wall, not like the others in the reactor. These are ment to open. Those in the reactor were ment to Contain. But he pays these no mind. He wants only the treasurehouse of knowledge in this room. And here it is. Line after long line, row after of books, containing all information on the Jenova project. Slowly, Sephiroth draws one book from the shelf and begins to read everything, every book in the room, on the shelves, in the floor and in the desks, under the desks. Sephiroth read about the Ancients, he learned that the planet once belonged to the Cetra, who are also known as the Ancients. A Crisis struck the planet, it put the lives of everyone and ultimately the entire planet in danger. Some of the Cetra fled from the danger, leaving the rest to die whilst saving the planet. The cowardly Cetra were the ancestors of humanity. Since Sephiroth was the son of Jenova, who was a Cetra, he now believes that he is the rightful heir to the planet, and as the humans were traitors (since their ancestors were the Cetra who ran away from the crisis) they should be punished for what they did and he must return the planet to it's rightful owners, him and his mother, Jenova. His eyes blaze in fury. The many days of research, of no food or water, of no sleep, have came through and payed off..in a way he never expected.

Once inside the Mansion, Sephiroth's trail was plainly visible onthe thick dust-covered floor. After tracking his friend to an upstairs bedroom, he quickly found the secret door and headed down a long, spiraling staircase that. Zack soon found himself in the Mansion's basement. It was dank and cold, more of a natural cave than any type of manmade construction. At the far end of the main tunnel, he saw the faint glimmer of light and the soft murmur of a voice that he knew almost better than his own. Zack paused in the doorway. A frown crossed his face as he listened to the other man mutter almost continuously to himself. He had never seen his friend, for whom control and precision were practically a religion, acting so... incoherent. "...an organism, apparently dead, was found in a 2000 year old geological stratum. Professor Gast named that organism, Jenova..." As Sephiroth continued to read various passages, one name kept coming up repeatedly -- Jenova. "My mother's name is Jenova... Jenova Project... Is this just a coincedence?" Paper crinkled as Sephiroth clenched his fist. "Professor Gast... Why didn't you tell me anything? Why did you die?" Seemingly oblivious to Zacks presence, Sephiroth tossed the crumpled paper aside, and headed down a narrow, book-lined hallway. Zack followed the General through the passageway into a back room, also crammed with papers. As the other man tossed the book onto the battered desk and began to rummage for another one, Zack finally spoke up.

Suddenly, a voice reaches Sephiroths ears. Zack's voice. Soft, yet gruff and deep, much like a young mans voice. "Sephiroth, what's going on down here, man? You haven't been up in... A week!" He says, looking at the Silver haired man. Sephiroth turns slowly, glaring at Zack. "Shut your mouth, Traitor.." He says in a low voice.. Zacks eyes grow wide and he steps back at just the sound of the cruelty in that voice.. "W-wha? I.. I don't--" Sephiroth shakes his head and slices the air with Masamune, a whistling sound accompanying the movement. "You don't know, because you are to ignorant! Look around you, see these books? Do you know what it's like to get PROOF?" Zack shakes his head and says "Proof...of what?" Sephiroth sighs gently and says "Proof of what I am.. These books.." He says gently, his eyes burning with fury. "These books.. Hold the knowledge of what YOUR ancestors did to my people.. My mother.. You will ALL pay for it! And you will.. I shall ensure this myself!" He says with a growl, stalking closer to Zack. Zack gasps as he steps back, Sephiroths face no more then a few inches of his. "You.. And everyone like you..will..pay.." He whispers gently, the cold steel of Masamune raising to press against the soft flesh of his neck. "I should make you pay here, traitor.. With blood.. But I don't think I want to do that. You're going to..suffer." He whispers in his malicious voice, a grin on his face. Sephiroth places his hand against Zacks chest, thrusting his arm foward and causing Zack to fall, his rear slamming hard against the ground with a thud. "Stay out of my way." Sephiroth says with a growl as he stalks past the young man, out of the door and back up through the mansion. Zack, after Sephiroth leaves the room, stands slowly. "Gods..what's happened?" He says aloud to himself. A thin trail of crimson red dribbles from the wound on Zacks neck from where Masamune pressed against his skin.

Once Zack does leave the mansion, many hours later, the flames almost blind the eyes of the man who was in darkness for so long.. Burning vivedly orange and yellow, red and gold, the flames of the homes and shops that belonged once to a town called Nibelheim.. Zack runs down the path of the house, into the town. "You!" An older man, dressed in an odd cape with brown hair, speckeled with gray, says loudly. "Check that house for survivors!" Zack nods and says "Wait! What happened here!" The man shakes his head sadly and says "It was Sephiroth! Hurry up!" Zack's eyes close for a second in mourning before he charges into a house, finding no survivors.. Four. Four people, out of a town of over twenty, live. And one wasn't even born there.. Tifa (their guide to the reactor) and her father, Zack (who wasn't born in Neiblheim), and Cloud.. Tifa has left to the reactor, where her father went to plead with Sephiroth to spare the remaining area of the town.. Zack runs after Sephiroth, determined to stop this madness at once. Cloud lays on the ground, hit over the head with a support from the house his mother lived in before she passed away. Zack begins up the pathway before seeing Sephiroth, standing just infront of the flames. "Do not get in my way." Sephiroth warns the young man before turning, Masamune at his side, walking through the fire and up the path to the Reactor. But Zack ignores that warning, jumping through the flames minutes later and charging up the path, knowing that Sephiroth would have already gotten to the reactor. Cloud also wakes up slowly, his eyes opening, looking around. "Zack..go.. He went after..Sephiroth.." Cloud gasps as he recalls what has happened, standing quickly. "You rest.." Cloud says in his soft voice to the man who he supposes is the man who trained Tifa in her hand-to-hand combat. The man lies on the ground, burns all up and down his body. "Okay..just go.." The old man says again before his head rolls to the side, breath leaving his body. Cloud sighs as he stands, running quickly up the path after Zack and Sephiroth.

Zack looks around quickly as he runs into the reactor.. He sees Tifa's father laying outside, his body cold and lifeless, a massive gash across his chest. "He's gone.." Zack had said at first sight. Inside, Masamune sings an evil song as the cold blade slashes through the air and Tifas body, who was trying to wrest the sword from Sephiroths grip. "You killed..my father.." She says with a sob of sorrow and anger, kicking at Sephiroths stomache as the blade connects with her. Her blouse is ripped as the blade tears through her, sending her through the air and down the metal grated stairs, grinding her back along the cold metal. Zack only watches as Sephiroth rips the door from the top of the stairs, the door that stood under the words 'Jenova'. "Sephiroth!" Sephiroth turns and scowls. "I said stay out of my way!" Zack unsheaths his sword, a massive blade called the Buster sword, charging up the stairs. Zack swings powerfully at Sephiroth before his blow is parried, the sword thrusted to the side and the cold steel of Masamune sliding easily into Zacks bowls. "I said.. I warned you, boy." Sephiroth whispers with a grin as he takes the blade in both hands, drawing it painfully slowly from Zacks body. Blood, warm and crimson red, pours from the fatal wound in Zacks stomach. "W..why?" Zack whimpers as he falls back. "Because..you're all traitors. You deserve to burn in the purifying flames of hell.." Sephiroth whispers, laughing loudly as he swings the sword again, slashing across Zacks chest and sending him flying through the air, landing atop one of the capsuls containing the mutants. Zack sighs, letting out what remains of his last breath, the Buster sword falling to the ground beside the door. Sephiroth walks in, grinning evily as he lays his eyes on the statue of his mother, Jenova. Sephiroth ascends another flight of stairs to look upon the face of the statue, raising his hands into the air, hailing Jenova. "I have come for you, mother!" Sephiroth says loudly, laughing softly. He moves closer, Masamune tight in his hands..and once again, the blade rings out as the statue is cut in two. Slowly, it falls away, Sephiroth throwing the remainder to the ground. The room that Sephiroth is now in is very, very dark.. But cords, electrical and suspension cords holding something up, can be felt shifting under his feet with his footsteps. It smells dank and musty.. Old.

Cloud runs into the reactor, seeing the Buster sword next to the door, blood staining the blade and the hilt where Zack was opened up. "Oh no.." Cloud whispers as he sees Zacks lifeless body. He leans down, picking the blade up in his gloved hand, looking around the room. Then he lays eyes on Tifa. "TIFA!" Cloud screams in fear, running up the stairs and leaning down beside the woman. "C..Cloud..Where were you?" She asks weakly, opening her eyes to look up at him. "I've been here the whole time, Tifa.. I.. I'm sorry.." He says gently as he trys to cover her body up. "No..I..I'm not going..to last much longer.. Cloud, I love you.." She whispers softly, smiling up at him weakly, her soft hand coming up to caress his cheek. "I couldn't say..it before..but I do.. Kill..Sephiroth.." She whispers again before her head slowly rolls to the side, her chest falling as her last breath leaves her body. "Tifa.. I love you too.. Don't leave me, please! Tifa! Tifa!" He screams, tears rolling freely down his face as he looks upon her limp form. "Tifa.. I will.. I'll kill him.." He says softly as he stands up, his arms quivering, his face twisting in fury as he runs up the stairs, the Buster Sword tight in his hands.

Sephiroth takes hold of what remains of the statue before a voice rings out. "Sephiroth! Stop!" Cloud says loudly, the Buster Sword blade in his hands.. Clouds sword is huge, not as big as the Masamune but much thicker. "Cloud.. You're a fool.. You cannot stand in my way.." And Sephiroth feels a pain in his back as the Buster sword slashes the skin open. "I'll..I'll kill you! You killed Tifa! Zack! You killed everyone! You burnt down..my town.." Cloud whispers as Sephiroth growls in unsurpassed fury and anger, turning quickly, Masamune cutting through Clouds shirt and body, laying him wide open. Cloud gasps softly as he falls to the ground, crawling from the room, bleeding profusely from the gash on his chest and left arm. "You..fool." Sephiroth says with a laugh, the wound on his back healing thanks to the cells of Jenova, his mother, that run through his veins.. He turns back toward the Metallic statue of Jenova and grins evily as he goes about his work.

The statue falls the rest of the way away as he pushes what little is left of it into a corner, making sparks as several of the wires are ripped from the tank where a strange, almost bug like creature rests. It's huge.. Lime green Tendrils snake out from the body inside, making it look bigger. And slowly, as Sephiroth approaches, an eye in the central mass of the mutant, Jenova, opens.. "Mother.. I've come.." Sephiroth whispers gently, his eyes filled with bliss as he breaks the tank with a leather gloved fist. After the water inside pours out, foul smelling and thick, Sephiroth readys his sword and quickly slashes through the neck of the creature.. The head rolls from 'Jenova', landing on the ground with a thud and not moving again, the eye following Sephiroth all the way down. Sephiroth stoops slightly, picking the head of Jenova. The eye remains open, looking up at Sephiroth, "We shall get vengance on those bastard trators together, mother!" Sephiroth says with an evil grin, walking from the room. He reaches the inside of the reactor, ignoring Cloud, who now sits beside Tifa, looking at her body.. Blood pours freely from the wound on Clouds chest and tears fall from his eyes. "You killed her.. You bastard!" Cloud says loudly, grabbing his sword again and running after Sephiroth. Clouds wound is also healed in seconds.

Sephiroth laughs as he steps out onto the bridge over the pit of Mako energy, the source of the growing green light. "Sephiroth... I.. I won't let you do this!" Cloud says loudly, running foward.. As he runs foward, Sephiroth turns to stand sideways, Masamune held in one hand and plunges the sword deep into Clouds bowels. "Don't...push...your luck!" Sephiroth says loudly as Cloud grabs the blade of the sword and, to his suprise, begins to pull himself down it. "How the hell... How... No matter!" Sephiroth says softly, holding the blade, Clouds limp yet struggling form still Impaled on it, in the air. "Goodbye, Private First class Cloud Strife." Sephiroth says coldly as he flings Cloud from the blade. Cloud looks up at Sephiroth, tears falling from his bright blue eyes as he disappears into the swirling green pit of Mako energy, or the Lifestream. Sephiroth watches as Clouds body disappears into the green mass, laughing again. "We've done it, mother.. The fool is gone.." Sephiroth whispers, holding the head of Jenova up in his hands, looking into the eyes of what he believes is his mother. "We will rule this planet.." Sephiroth whispers, laughing as he walks from the reactor, leaving the bodies of Zack, Tifa and Tifa's father behind-


End file.
